Mother's Love, Brother's Kindness
by FalconFate
Summary: She had viewed him as an angel from heaven, then. But as her son lay bleeding—dying—she knew it had been an illusion. A mistake. And in that moment, she made a desision. She would leave, but she would never come back. And she would take her eldest with her.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, this story may or may not be inspired by ****milky0candy****'s 'Shadow and Shadeslayer', however, as you can probably tell, it's not a fem! Eragon(a). **

**I do ****_not _****own IC, or it's main characters, those belong solely to Mr. Christopher Paolini. **

Prologue

Morzan.

At the time, he had seemed like a god from the heavens. Now, as her son lay on the floor, blood staining the carpet, she knew it had been an illusion—a mistake, even. Selena hid herself behind the doorframe, knowing that if she entered, the man would surely, in his drunken rage, kill her as well.

She couldn't have that. Her son needed her. She would never deny him that.

So she waited, tears flowing down her cheeks, for Morzan to leave. When he finally did, slamming the other door to the room, she rushed to her boy—her beautiful, only little boy—and knelt beside him.

Murtagh had lost consciousness, and for a brief, heartstopping moment, she thought him dead. But short, shuddering breaths said otherwise. Selena gently, oh so gently, picked him up, knowing where she had to go. The tears flowed ever faster down her cheeks as she realized what would might have happened if she had left when she planned to.

Making sure her grip on her three-year-old son would hold, she rushed down to the gardens, blowing past shocked servants and maids, kicking closed doors open, knowing that she had very little time to lose.

Finally exiting the great castle, she burst into bright sunlight. She hurried to the cottage, where _he_ lived, posing as a gardener. Brom. Surely, _surely _he could heal this.

He was around the pther side, weeding. He looked up as Selena whirled around the corner, a smile almost on his face at the sight of her—but when he saw her face, and the boy's, he dropped his tools and ushered her inside.

He directed her to the table in the kitchen, and she gently set him upon it's rough surface. Brom—her beautiful, wonderful Brom—looked him over, at the gaping wound in his back. He held his slightly shaky palm over it, took a deep breath, and uttered the words.

"Waíse heill."

The wound closed, the flesh slowly coming together, from bottom to top. As the skin joined, it whitened, gradually forming a long, gruesome scar. Selena put her face in her hands, sobbing. When Brom finally stumbled back, she made no move except to take her hands from her face. After a moment, she tenderly sat in the single chair next to the table, wrapping her arm around Murtagh's still shoulders and burying her beautiful face in his dark hair.

It was in that moment that she finally started sobbing. She hardly felt Brom kneel beside her and wrap an arm around her own shoulders. It was in that moment that she made a desision. She would leave, as she had planned. But she would not come back. And she would take her boy with her.

**Well, how's that for an AU story? **

**I just had to write this. 'Sides, Tag needs a family. *surreptitiously glares at Paolini***

**Please Review!**

**Falcon**


	2. Chapter 2

**I am back. I don't own much. Just the plot. Everything else belongs to the nearly heartless CP. He's only ****_nearly _****heartless because he promised something about one of the stars of this series, Murtagh, in the fifth book. **

**I will be holding him to that. **

Chapter One

In Brom's opinion, Selena was being a bit... obvious. She rushed around her son's room, throwing pieces of clothing into the sack, rushed around some more, and did who knows what else.

She stopped at the one thing Brom had ever given the boy. It was a small clay figure, something Brom had made for his last burthr dag. A beautiful dragon, neck arched high in the air, wings flared, and tail curled around it's front claws. It's nose pointed downards, but it's delicate, miniscule eyes looked at you with a hidden wisdom. It was an enchanted dragon, designed to protect it's owner. If Murtagh was threatened, the little creature would spring to life and rush to defend him. Selena turned.

"Why didn't it work?"

Brom sighed. "I don't know. It could have been flying to him, but was too far away, or too many doors were closed. I'm sorry," he finished.

Selena looked down. "I know. And you more than made up for it by healing him. Even though he's the son of that...beast," she finished lamely.

Brom nodded in understanding. "He is also the son of Selena," he reminded her. She looked up at him, giving a teary smile. Even in the armor she always wore, she was beautiful. Soulful blue eyes shone with love for him, and he felt like the happiest man alive. If only Saphira could see him now...

Selena picked up the clay figurine and hid it in a pocket. Then, she grabbed the sack, now full, and left the room, headed for the stables. Brom went down to his house, to check on the boy.

* * *

When he opened the door to the small cottage, he immediately saw Murtagh whip around, panic shining in his eyes. The boy was sitting on the table, torso still bare.

"W-who are you?"

Brom frowned. "The gardener. You're very lucky to be alive, you know."

The boy reached up to rub his shoulder. "What do you—" His eyes widened as he felt the scar. Brom could easily see that the boy was helpless for words.

"Morzan threw his sword. Your mother took you to me. I healed you. You woke up." All of this he said in a brisk tone, but not unkind.

Murtagh just sat back on his haunches, brought his knees to his chest and buried his face in them. Brom then went about fixing up some sort of stew for the boy.

**This story will most likely be one filled with short chapters. I apologize. **

**For those who need it, there will be an AL (Ancient Language) translation at the bottom author's note for words that were not often used in the series (you all know what 'Waíse heill' means, right? (if you don't, it's 'be healed'))**

**Burthr dag: Birth day**

**Please review**

**Falcon**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi… I'm back. I own NOTHING, or I'd have saved Murtagh and Thorn LONG before they were made to kill Oromis and Glaedr's body. **

Selena gripped Murtagh around his middle as she rode, never once relaxing her hold. Her trusty mare, Caledonia, galloped below them, carrying them far from Morzan's evil. So far, they'd ridden for three days; they still had many weeks before they would even reach Utgard. After Utgard, it would be another fortnight before they reached Carvahall, where her brother and sister-in-law lived.

Murtagh stirred slightly in front of her. "Mother…? Where are we?"

Selena shifted her grip on his small torso. "Somewhere in the wild."

"Where?"

She smiled. "Somewhere north of Morzan, and somewhere south of our destination."

"Mother?"

"Yes dear?"

"Where are we going?"

Selena sighed. "Somewhere safe," she promised.

"Oh. Alright." There was a pause. "I'm hungry. Can we eat soon?"

"Soon, I promise," said Selena.

She felt Murtagh hum happily, the prospect of food—and soon, at that—seemed to put him at ease. Selena smiled tiredly. Then she frowned as she realized that Murtagh's innocent question had brought her own hunger to the fore.

After another hour, Selena deemed it a good time to stop to rest and eat. Caledonia stretched her honey-amber neck down to graze, occasionally shifting her dark feet for better purchase. Selena sat Murtagh down, and dug around in her pack for a meal.

After eating, Murtagh laid down next to a cross-legged Selena and fell asleep. Selena smiled and let him have his nap.

After a half-hour, Selena gently shook her son awake. "Come on, dear. We have to get going." The three-year-old grumbled a bit, but complied.

They mounted Caledonia and rode on.

**Well… that's it.**

**I really want to describe Caledonia now, so if you don't want to see the wild ramblings of a horse person, skip ahead of the following paragraph:**

**Caledonia is a mare, as well as a dun, which is a special horse coloring; the base color is pale brown, and they always have a black or dark brown stripe running down their spine. They also usually have dark legs. Caledonia is a dun, as I've said, and she has a long, narrow white stripe running down the center of her face. I ****almost wish I had a dun pony. They're so beautiful! Not to mention Cisco (from Dances with Wolves) is a dun, and she was beautiful.**

**Okay, done with the horse craze. **

**REVIEW!**

Fate


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey… I own nothing, or Thorn would have had a mate by Inheritance.**

They rode for many days before reaching the entrance to Palencar Valley. As they galloped beneath Utgard, Selena breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Within the sheltered vale, they were reasonably safe. An hour after Utgard, she slowed Caledonia down to an easy canter. Within three hours, they reached Therinsford. Selena gazed at the village with slight distaste for the unorganized jumble of buildings.

Slowing to a walk at the gates, they entered the village. In front of her, Murtagh looked around with wide eyes. Selena smiled as he took it all in.

Finally, Selena spotted an inn within the disorderly mass. Dismounting and grabbing Caledonia's reins, she hurried toward it. At the hitching post, she secured Caledonia, took Murtagh down from the saddle and entered.

Inside it was warm and homely. The building itself was made from spruce and plaster, with cedar-wood tables and furniture. On the far wall, a fire crackled merrily in the fireplace. On the wall to their left, a long counter stretched almost the length of the building, behind which two men worked busily. The lower floor of the inn was obviously a tavern that served food, and was filled with people. Keeping her three-year-old son close to her side, Selena went up to the counter. "Excuse me?"

One of the men looked up. "Somethin' ya need?"

"A room for tonight," said Selena. The man smiled and grabbed on of the keys hanging on a rack behind him. "Righ' this way miss."

The man led her up the staircase and down a hallway, stopping at a door near the end. "'Ere ya go. If ya need somethin', just come down, and my daughter, Meg, will take care of it."

Selena turned to him. "Thank you, sir."

The man laughed and went back downstairs. Selena opened the door and went inside, Murtagh close behind.

The room was spacious, with a bed, a window, and a chair by a fireplace. "Murtagh, dear, would you mind staying here while I go get our bags?"

"I'll stay."

Selena smiled. "Good boy." She kissed his cheek and went downstairs.

Exiting the building, she untied Caledonia and led her into the stables. After taking off her tack and setting it on a rack made for that purpose, she gave the mare a rub down. After she had finished this task, she grabbed the saddlebags and reentered the inn.

* * *

:-–—–-–—–-:OoO:-–—–-–—–-:

* * *

Dinner was good, and filling for once. Murtagh stretched his arms above his head, wincing when the wound Morzan had given him stung with the movement. He sat in front of the fire in their room, glad that they had somehow gotten away from the man. Yawning tiredly, he brought his knees to his chest and sat there, watching the flames dance.

If he never moved again, it would definitely be far too soon. Smiling to himself, he fell asleep on the hearth.

**That scene made ME tired.**

**Anyhow, please review! I don't even really care if you follow or fave (though it is appreciated) just so long as you review! PLEASE!**

**Fate**


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